Richard Lyman Bushman, Joseph Smith: Rough Stone Rolling, Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group

“Over his lifetime, Joseph produced three inspired “translations”: the Book of Mormon, the Book of Moses, and the Book of Abraham, plus the “revision” of the Bible, a form of translation. Each book purported to be the record of another people of another time.” Ch. 6

Pearl of Great Price, Introduction

“The Pearl of Great Price is a selection of choice materials touching many significant aspects of the faith and doctrine of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. These items were translated and produced by the Prophet Joseph Smith, and most were published in the Church periodicals of his day.”

“The Pearl of Great Price received wide use and subsequently became a standard work of the Church by action of the First Presidency and the general conference in Salt Lake City on October 10, 1880.”

Pearl of Great Price, Introduction

“The Book of Abraham. An inspired translation of the writings of Abraham. Joseph Smith began the translation in 1835 after obtaining some Egyptian papyri. The translation was published serially in the Times and Seasons beginning March 1, 1842, at Nauvoo, Illinois.”

Gospel Topics Essays, “Translation and Historicity of the Book of Abraham,” Church History, Gospel Library, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints 

“The book of Abraham was first published in 1842 and was canonized as part of the Pearl of Great Price in 1880. The book originated with Egyptian papyri that Joseph Smith translated beginning in 1835.”

“In the summer of 1835, an entrepreneur named Michael Chandler arrived at Church headquarters in Kirtland, Ohio, with four mummies and multiple scrolls of papyrus. Chandler found a ready audience. Due partly to the exploits of the French emperor Napoleon, the antiquities unearthed in the catacombs of Egypt had created a fascination across the Western world. Chandler capitalized on this interest by touring with ancient Egyptian artifacts and charging visitors a fee to see them.

These artifacts had been uncovered by Antonio Lebolo, a former cavalryman in the Italian army. Lebolo, who oversaw some of the excavations for the consul general of France, pulled 11 mummies from a tomb not far from the ancient city of Thebes. Lebolo shipped the artifacts to Italy, and after his death, they ended up in New York. At some point the mummies and scrolls came into Chandler’s possession.

By the time the collection arrived in Kirtland, all but four mummies and several papyrus scrolls had already been sold. A group of Latter-day Saints in Kirtland purchased the remaining artifacts for the Church.”

Saints: The Story of the Church of Jesus Christ in the Latter Days, Volume 1, The Standard of Truth, 1815–1846, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Salt Lake City, Utah 

“In July, a poster advertising “Egyptian Antiquities” appeared in town. It told of the discovery of hundreds of mummies in an Egyptian tomb. Some of the mummies, as well as several ancient papyrus scrolls, had been exhibited throughout the United States, attracting large crowds of spectators. 

Michael Chandler, the man showcasing the artifacts, had heard of Joseph and come to Kirtland to see if he wanted to purchase them. Joseph examined the mummies, but he was more interested in the scrolls. They were covered with strange writing and curious images of people, boats, birds, and snakes. 

Chandler permitted the prophet to take the scrolls home and study them overnight. Joseph knew Egypt played an important role in the lives of several prophets in the Bible. He also knew Nephi, Mormon, and other writers of the Book of Mormon had recorded their words in what Moroni called “reformed Egyptian.”

As he examined the writings on the scrolls, he discerned that they contained vital teachings from the Old Testament patriarch Abraham.” Ch. 20

“Under Joseph’s direction, John Taylor and Wilford Woodruff began publishing the prophet’s translation of the book of Abraham in the March 1842 issues of the Times and Seasons.” Ch. 37

Richard Lyman Bushman, Joseph Smith: Rough Stone Rolling, Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group

“In the summer of 1835, Joseph returned to translating, the peculiar form of revelation he had set aside in 1833 when revision of the Bible was completed. Reawakening his interest was the visit of one Michael H. Chandler, who arrived in Kirtland on July 3, 1835, with four mummies and some rolls of papyrus. Something of an opportunist and promoter, Chandler had exhibited the artifacts in Cleveland in March and come to Kirtland, he said, because of Joseph Smith’s translating powers.” Ch. 15

“On inspecting the papyri, Joseph announced that one roll contained the writings of Abraham of Ur and another the writings of Joseph of Egypt. Excited by this discovery, he encouraged some of the Kirtland Saints to purchase four mummies and the papyri for $2,400, a huge sum when money was desperately needed for other projects. In late July and off and on through the fall and winter, Joseph worked on the translation, until events interrupted the work.” Ch. 15

“The first chapter and part of the second of the Book of Abraham were completed by 1837, and probably earlier; the remainder may not have been produced until early 1842, shortly before the publication in the Church newspaper, the Times and Seasons. The translation of the writings of Joseph of Egypt never appeared.” Ch. 15

“Joseph Smith’s Book of Abraham is best thought of as an apocryphal addition to the Genesis story of Abraham, in the same vein as the Enoch passages in the Book of Moses.” Ch. 15

“Abraham is the third of Joseph’s foundational biographies, stories of individuals who founded nations. One great character dominates each story. The Book of Mormon opens with “I, Nephi,” matching the opening of Abraham: “In the land of the Chaldeans, at the residence of my fathers, I, Abraham.” A person immediately flashes on the screen. The first chapter of Moses begins in the third person but immediately switches into Moses’ first-person account of seeing God face-to-face. From these individuals come peoples and civilizations. Nations spring up in these narratives and, in Moses and Abraham, humankind itself. The writings tell why earth was created, or how a people came into existence, through the account of a single figure. Nephi blends the dispersal of Israelite civilization to the New World with the story of his family. The Book of Abraham shows the founding of the Abrahamic nation, the people with priesthood who will bless the earth. In a sidebar to Abraham’s story, Egyptus and Pharaoh found Egypt. These stories are preoccupied with beginnings.” Ch. 15

Guide to the Scriptures, “The Book of Abraham,” Study Helps, Gospel Library, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

 “Ancient records written by Abraham that came into the possession of the Church in 1835.”

Pearl of Great Price, Abraham, Introduction

“Translated from the Papyrus, by Joseph Smith

A Translation of some ancient Records that have fallen into our hands from the catacombs of Egypt. The writings of Abraham while he was in Egypt, called the Book of Abraham, written by his own hand, upon papyrus.”

Pearl of Great Price, Abraham 1:12-14, 31

“And it came to pass that the priests laid violence upon me, that they might slay me also, as they did those virgins upon this altar; And that you may have a knowledge of this altar, I will refer you to the representation at the commencement of this record.

It was made after the form of a bedstead, such as was had among the Chaldeans, and it stood before the gods of Elkenah, Libnah, Mahmackrah, Korash, and also a god like unto that of Pharaoh, king of Egypt.

That you may have an understanding of these gods, I have given you the fashion of them in the figures at the beginning, which manner of figures is called by the Chaldeans Rahleenos, which signifies hieroglyphics.”

“I shall endeavor to write some of these things upon this record, for the benefit of my posterity that shall come after me.”

Saints: The Story of the Church of Jesus Christ in the Latter Days, Volume 1, The Standard of Truth, 1815–1846, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Salt Lake City, Utah 

“Excitement rippled through the church as Joseph and his scribes began trying to make sense of the ancient symbols, confident the Lord would soon reveal more of their message to the Saints.” Ch. 20

Joseph Smith Papers, “Historical Introduction: Grammar and Alphabet of the Egyptian Language, circa July–circa November 1835,” The Joseph Smith Papers

“When Michael Chandler sold four Egyptian mummies, two rolls of papyrus, and a number of papyrus fragments to members of the church in Kirtland, Ohio, in July 1835, JS and a few of his close associates began producing manuscripts that outlined their conceptualization of the Egyptian language. That work was captured in four documents: a manuscript containing their ideas of an Egyptian numbering system (the Egyptian Counting document) and three documents containing incomplete transliterations and definitions of characters (the Egyptian Alphabet documents). Relying heavily on these earlier efforts—and perhaps on additional nonextant documents—William W. Phelps inscribed the volume presented here, entitled “Grammar & A[l]phabet of the Egyptian Language.”

“The Grammar and Alphabet volume was one piece of a larger attempt to understand the Egyptian language, which was in turn part of a larger effort by JS to study ancient languages. The Egyptian Alphabet documents, the Grammar and Alphabet volume, and the manuscripts of the Book of Abraham all incorporated characters from the papyri as well as other characters of unknown origin. Some characters and elements from the definitions in the Egyptian Alphabet documents were incorporated into the Grammar and Alphabet volume, and a few were then copied into the Book of Abraham. A few of the characters found in the Grammar and Alphabet volume appear to have been copied there first and then later copied into the Egyptian Alphabet documents.”

“As the title suggests, the Grammar and Alphabet volume contains two types of information. The bulk of the material is lexicographical—ancient Egyptian and other characters are defined. Grammatical principles and rules appear in some of the definitions.”

“The lexicographical material has the same format as the Egyptian Alphabet documents—each entry contains a character, its associated transliteration, and the definition assigned to that character.”

“Indeed, in November 1843, JS “suggested the Idea of preparing a grammar of the Egyptian Language.” Whether JS intended to finish or publish the Grammar and Alphabet volume already in existence or to correct or otherwise build upon previous work and prepare a new grammar is unknown.”

“JS and his associates retained the volume and later used it several times in 1842 and 1843. The volume was used extensively when JS and his associates published Facsimile 2 and its accompanying explanation in March 1842.”

Joseph Smith Papers, “Historical Introduction: Egyptian Alphabet, circa Early July–circa November 1835–A,” The Joseph Smith Papers

“Starting at the fourth entry (1.4a, b), JS wrote the characters and the definitions—but not the sounds—for three consecutive entries. He later added the sounds above each line. This may reveal an emphasis on characters and definitions rather than pronunciation. Of the three Egyptian Alphabet documents, Egyptian Alphabet–A contains the most complete definitions for the final copied characters, which suggests that it may have been the last document updated before JS and his scribes ceased working on the project. The characters in this document were likely written by JS, given the similarity of the ink flow between the characters and the sounds and explanations that follow, which are in JS’s handwriting.”

Gospel Topics Essays, “Translation and Historicity of the Book of Abraham,” Church History, Gospel Library, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints 

“The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints embraces the book of Abraham as scripture. This book, a record of the biblical prophet and patriarch Abraham, recounts how Abraham sought the blessings of the priesthood, rejected the idolatry of his father, covenanted with Jehovah, married Sarai, moved to Canaan and Egypt, and received knowledge about the Creation.”

“After Joseph Smith examined the papyri and commenced “the translation of some of the characters or hieroglyphics,” his history recounts, “much to our joy [we] found that one of the rolls contained the writings of Abraham.”

“Some evidence suggests that Joseph studied the characters on the Egyptian papyri and attempted to learn the Egyptian language. His history reports that, in July 1835, he was “continually engaged in translating an alphabet to the Book of Abraham, and arranging a grammar of the Egyptian language as practiced by the ancients.” This “grammar,” as it was called, consisted of columns of hieroglyphic characters followed by English translations recorded in a large notebook by Joseph’s scribe, William W. Phelps. Another manuscript, written by Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery, has Egyptian characters followed by explanations.”

“Phelps apparently viewed Joseph Smith as uniquely capable of understanding the Egyptian characters: “As no one could translate these writings,” he told his wife, “they were presented to President Smith. He soon knew what they were.”

Richard Lyman Bushman, Joseph Smith: Rough Stone Rolling, Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group

“When Chandler arrived with the scrolls, Joseph saw the papyri and inspiration struck. Not one to deny God’s promptings, the Prophet said what he felt: the papyri were the writings of Abraham and Joseph. The whole thing was miraculous, and to reduce Joseph’s translation to some quasi-natural process, some concluded, was folly.” Ch. 15

“Despite his gift for “translating,” Joseph wanted to learn language in the ordinary way and translate rationally as well as miraculously. When he returned to the translation of Abraham in 1842, he again proposed an Egyptian grammar. He apparently hoped to transform his inspired interpretation of the text into a mastery of the Egyptian language. In the fall of 1835, when he first began work on the Abraham text, he was also planning to study languages conventionally.” Ch. 15

“Through the fall of 1835, the little group made various attempts. “This after noon labored on the Egyptian alphabet, in company with [brothers] O. Cowdery and W. W. Phelps,” Joseph’s journal notes. They seem to have copied lines of Egyptian from the papyrus and worked out stories to go with the text. Or they wrote down an Egyptian character and attempted various renditions. Joseph apparently had translated the first two chapters of Abraham—through chapter 2, verse 18, in the current edition—and the would-be translators matched up hieroglyphs with some of his English sentences.” Ch. 15

“Eventually they pulled their work together into a collection they called “Grammar & A[l]phabet of the Egyptian Language,” written in the hands of Phelps and Parrish.” Ch. 15

“In light of Joseph’s language study, the Egyptian grammar appears as an awkward attempt to blend a scholarly approach to language with inspired translation.” Ch. 15

“What was going on as he translated? For many years, Mormons assumed that he sat down with the scrolls, looked at each Egyptian word, and by inspiration understood its meaning in English. He must have been reading from a text, so Mormons thought, much as a conventional translator would do, except the words came by revelation rather than out of his own learning.” Ch. 15

“Joseph translated Abraham as he had the characters on the gold plates, by knowing the meaning without actually knowing the plates’ language. Warren Parish, his clerk, said, “I have set by his side and penned down the translation of the Egyptian Heiroglyphicks as he claimed to receive it by direct inspiration of heaven.” Ch. 15

Wilford Woodruff “Wilford Woodruff Journal, 1841 January - 1842 December,” 19 February, 1842, MS 1352, p. 139, Church History Catalog, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

“Truly the Lord has raised up Joseph the Seer of the seed of Abraham out of the loins of ancient Joseph, & is now clothing him with might & power & wisdom & knowledge which is more clearly manifest & felt in the midst of his intimate friends than by any other class of mankind. The Lord is Blessing Joseph with Power to reveal the mysteries of the kingdom of God; to translate through the Urim & Thummim Ancient records & Hyerogliphics as old as Abraham or Adam, which causes our hearts to burn within us. Joseph the seer has presented us some of the Book of Abraham which was written by his own hand but hid from the knowledge of man for the last four thousand years but has now come to light through the mercy of God. Joseph has had these records in his possession for several years but has never presented them before the world in the english language until now. But he is about to publish it to the world or parts of it by publishing it in the Times & Seasons, for Joseph the seer is now the Editor of that paper & Elder Taylor assists him in writing while it has fallen to my lot to take charge of the Business part of the establishment, I have had the privilege this day of assisting in setting the TIPE for printing the first page of the BOOK OF ABRAHAM that is to be presented to the inhabitants of the EARTH in the LAST DAYS.”

Pearl of Great Price, Abraham 1:6

“For their hearts were set to do evil, and were wholly turned to the god of Elkenah, and the god of Libnah, and the god of Mahmackrah, and the god of Korash, and the god of Pharaoh, king of Egypt.”

Pearl of Great Price, Abraham 1:9-11

“And it came to pass that the priest made an offering unto the god of Pharaoh, and also unto the god of Shagreel, even after the manner of the Egyptians. Now the god of Shagreel was the sun.

Even the thank-offering of a child did the priest of Pharaoh offer upon the altar which stood by the hill called Potiphar’s Hill, at the head of the plain of Olishem.

Now, this priest had offered upon this altar three virgins at one time, who were the daughters of Onitah, one of the royal descent directly from the loins of Ham.”

Pearl of Great Price, Abraham 1:14

“That you may have an understanding of these gods, I have given you the fashion of them in the figures at the beginning, which manner of figures is called by the Chaldeans Rahleenos, which signifies hieroglyphics.”

Pearl of Great Price, Abraham 3:3

“And the Lord said unto me: These are the governing ones; and the name of the great one is Kolob, because it is near unto me, for I am the Lord thy God.”

Pearl of Great Price, Abraham 3:13

“And he said unto me: This is Shinehah, which is the sun. And he said unto me: Kokob, which is star. And he said unto me: Olea, which is the moon. And he said unto me: Kokaubeam, which signifies stars, or all the great lights, which were in the firmament of heaven.”

Pearl of Great Price, A Facsimile from the Book of Abraham, No. 1, Fig. 12

“Raukeeyang, signifying expanse, or the firmament over our heads; but in this case, in relation to this subject, the Egyptians meant it to signify Shaumau, to be high, or the heavens, answering to the Hebrew word, Shaumahyeem.”

Pearl of Great Price, A Facsimile from the Book of Abraham, No. 2, Fig. 5

“Is called in Egyptian Enish-go-on-dosh; this is one of the governing planets also, and is said by the Egyptians to be the Sun, and to borrow its light from Kolob through the medium of Kae-e-vanrash, which is the grand Key, or, in other words, the governing power, which governs fifteen other fixed planets or stars, as also Floeese or the Moon, the Earth and the Sun in their annual revolutions. This planet receives its power through the medium of Kli-flos-is-es, or Hah-ko-kau-beam, the stars represented by numbers 22 and 23, receiving light from the revolutions of Kolob.”

Pearl of Great Price, A Facsimile from the Book of Abraham, No. 3, Fig. 6

“Olimlah, a slave belonging to the prince.”

Gospel Topics Essays, “Translation and Historicity of the Book of Abraham,” Church History, Gospel Library, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints 

“After the Latter-day Saints left Nauvoo, the Egyptian artifacts remained behind. Joseph Smith’s family sold the papyri and the mummies in 1856. The papyri were divided up and sold to various parties; historians believe that most were destroyed in the Great Chicago Fire of 1871. Ten papyrus fragments once in Joseph Smith’s possession ended up in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. In 1967, the museum transferred these fragments to the Church, which subsequently published them in the Church’s magazine, the Improvement Era.”

“The fragments included one vignette, or illustration, that appears in the book of Abraham as facsimile 1.”

“The discovery of the fragments meant that readers could now see the hieroglyphs and characters immediately surrounding the vignette that became facsimile 1.”

Richard Lyman Bushman, Joseph Smith: Rough Stone Rolling, Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group

“Eleven scraps of the Abraham papyri, long since lost and believed to have been burned, were discovered in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City and given to Latter-day Saint leaders in Salt Lake City. Color pictures were soon printed and scholars went to work. The texts were thought to be the Abraham papyri because Joseph had published facsimiles from the papyri with his translation, and the same pictures appeared on the museum fragments. Moreover, some of the characters from the Egyptian grammar appeared on the fragments.” Ch. 15

Parkinson, R. B; Diffie, Whitfield; Fischer, M. “Cracking Codes : The Rosetta Stone and Decipherment,” 1999, University of California Press

“The most popular single object in the British Museum is perhaps the Rosetta Stone, famous for the texts inscribed upon its surface which have made it an icon of all decipherments and of all attempts to access the ancient past in its own terms.” Ch. 1

“As a result of the French campaign, a new piece of evidence concerning the nature of hieroglyphs was discovered in 1799. The Rosetta Stone was quickly recognized as “a most valuable relic of antiquity, the feeble but only yet discovered link of the Egyptian to the known languages,” and has become perhaps “the most famous piece of rock in the world." Ch. 1

“The Stone was found and excavated by an officer of the Engineers, Pietie Francois Xavier Bouchard (1772-1832) who immediately realized that it was part of a stela inscribed in three scripts. Of these, the fourteen lines of the incomplete hieroglyphic section and the fifty-three lines of the Greek section were immediately recognizable, but the thirty-two lines of the middle section, in a script now known as demotic, were initially assumed to be Syriac” Ch. 1

“The first complete translation of the Rosetta Stone in the New World appeared in Philadelphia in 1858.” Ch. 1

“On an expedition to Egypt in April 1866, Lepsius studied another trilingual decree found at Tanis. This was a fine limestone stela, with a copy of the so-called Canopus Decree of Ptolemy III (238 BC), and is now in the Egyptian Museum, Cairo. The well-preserved stela, 220 cm high, has the hieroglyphic text and the Greek on the front face, underneath a lunette with a winged sun-disk, but without a figured scene. The demotic text is on the left thickness of the stela, where it remained unnoticed at first. With this discovery, Champollion’s hypotheses could be checked using a hieroglyphic text that had a certainly identified ancient translation; the Tanis stela is thus as important a milestone in Egyptology as the better known Rosetta Stone: only now did Champollion's decipherment become certainty, not hypothesis.” Ch. 1

Allen, James P., “Middle Egyptian: An Introduction To The Language And Culture Of Hieroglyphs,” 2014, Third Edition, Cambridge University Press, Preface 

“The decipherment of ancient Egyptian hieroglyphic writing is one of the great success stories of modern archeology. Before 1822, the civilization of ancient Egypt was mute and mysterious, its images bizarre and incomprehensible to a world convinced that all thought of any worth began with the ancient Greeks. Today we are able to read the ancient Egyptian texts and, more importantly, to understand for the most part what they meant to the people who wrote them. In the process we have discovered a world of rich imagination, sophisticated thought, and profoundly moving emotion.”

Thompson, Jason, “Wonderful Things, A History of Egyptology, 1: From Antiquity to 1881,” 2015, The American University in Cairo Press

“Much has been lost, but with so many resources at hand and with the history of Egyptology approaching maturation as a discipline, this is an appropriate moment to attempt a comprehensive survey of the development of the study of ancient Egypt.” Introduction

“Champollion resolved the old debate about whether the hieroglyphics were symbolic, phonetics, ideographic, alphabetic, or whatever. The script was not purely one thing or another but rather a combination of them.” p. 120

“The Canopus Decree, a bilingual stone similar to the Rosetta Stone, though earlier in date, commemorating benefits bestowed by Ptolemy III Euergetes on the temples of Egypt in 238. Like the Rosetta Stone, the Canopus Decree is written in three scripts: hieroglyphs, demotic, and Greek. It confirmed many of the results that had been achieved in decipherment and translation, while adding many new hieroglyphs to the lists of those already known. The Canopus decree also contained the most accurate solar calendar to its date. It was later implemented by Julius Caesar and became known as the Julian calendar.” p. 270

Gospel Topics Essays, “Translation and Historicity of the Book of Abraham,” Church History, Gospel Library, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints 

“The relationship of these documents to the book of Abraham is not fully understood. Neither the rules nor the translations in the grammar book correspond to those recognized by Egyptologists today.”

“Long before the fragments were published by the Church, some Egyptologists had said that Joseph Smith’s explanations of the various elements of these facsimiles did not match their own interpretations of these drawings.”

“None of the characters on the papyrus fragments mentioned Abraham’s name or any of the events recorded in the book of Abraham. Latter-day Saint and non-Latter-day Saint Egyptologists agree that the characters on the fragments do not match the translation given in the book of Abraham.”

“Scholars have identified the papyrus fragments as parts of standard funerary texts that were deposited with mummified bodies. These fragments date to between the third century B.C.E. and the first century C.E., long after Abraham lived.”

Joseph Smith Papers, “Introduction to Egyptian Alphabet Documents, circa Early July–circa November 1835,” The Joseph Smith Papers

“No evidence indicates that any of the individuals involved in creating these documents had knowledge of the unfolding scholarly decipherment of the Egyptian language, and their work does not comport with modern Egyptological understanding of Egyptian characters.”

Joseph Smith Papers, “Historical Introduction: Egyptian Counting, circa Early July–circa November 1835,” The Joseph Smith Papers

“The Egyptian Counting document is built on a base-ten number system. It is unknown where the characters originated, but they appear to be adapted versions of Arabic numerals rather than Egyptian characters. Given that JS and his associates included in the Egyptian Alphabet documents some non-Egyptian characters, these characters may have been similarly borrowed from other sources.”

Richard Lyman Bushman, Joseph Smith: Rough Stone Rolling, Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group

“The translation of these texts by expert Egyptologists would finally prove or disprove Joseph’s claims to miraculous translating powers. Would any of the language correspond to the text in his Book of Abraham? Some Mormons were crushed when the fragments turned out to be rather conventional funerary texts placed with mummified bodies, in this case Hôr’, to assure continuing life as an immortal god. According to the Egyptologists, nothing on the fragments resembled Joseph’s account of Abraham.” Ch. 15

“The discovery prompted a reassessment of the Book of Abraham. What was going on while Joseph “translated” the papyri and dictated text to a scribe? Obviously, he was not interpreting the hieroglyphics like an ordinary scholar.” Ch. 15

Michael D. Rhodes, “Teaching the Book of Abraham Facsimiles,” 2003, Religious Educator, Volume 4, Number 2

“These papyri fragments came from three separate papyri rolls containing ancient Egyptian religious texts. The first is a Book of Breathings belonging to a man named Hor the son of Usirwer. There are also two copies of the Book of the Dead, one belonging to Tshemmin the daughter of Eskhons and the other to a woman named Neferirnub. Although it was not found among the Metropolitan Museum of Art fragments, Joseph Smith also had a third Book of the Dead belonging to Amenhotep son of Tanub and a document Egyptologists call a hypocephalus (facsimile 2) belonging to a man named Sheshonq.”

“These Egyptian documents can be reliably dated to somewhere between 220 and 150 b.c. on the basis of the handwriting, the historical period in which the religious writings on these papyri were in use in Egypt, and the historical references to at least one of the original owners of the papyri. They cannot possibly date to the period of Abraham—around 2000 to 1800 b.c. This seems to contradict the statement in the introduction to the book of Abraham that states it was “written by his own hand, upon papyrus.” Moreover, the writing on the surviving fragments can all be translated, and none of it mentions Abraham or seems to be related to the text of the book of Abraham.”

“Modern Egyptologists maintain that the facsimiles do not at all represent what Joseph Smith said they do. 

The original of facsimile 1 of the book of Abraham is found at the beginning of the Hor Book of Breathings papyrus, and the hieroglyphic writing on it associates the figure on the couch (figure 1) with Hor, the owner of the papyrus, who is portrayed as being resurrected by the god Anubis, who stands over him. Above and to the right of Anubis, Hor’s soul is represented as a human-headed falcon. 

Facsimile 3, although not among the surviving fragments, also came from the same Book of Breathings, since the name Hor is found three times in the hieroglyphic writing on that facsimile. In this facsimile, Hor (figure 5), having been judged and found worthy, is being ushered into the presence of Osiris (figure 1), the god of the dead, who is seated upon his throne. Behind Osiris is his wife/sister Isis (figure 2). Hor is being escorted by the god Anubis, guide of the dead (figure 6), and Ma’at, the goddess of truth (figure 4). Like facsimile 3, facsimile 2 is not found among the surviving fragments, but the writing on it indicates it belonged to a man named Sheshonq, and the hieroglyphic writing on it deals with Sheshonq’s happiness and well-being in the Egyptian afterlife.”

Robert Ritner, “The Breathing Permit of Hor Among the Joseph Smith Papyri,” July 2003, Journal of Near Eastern Studies, Volume 62, Article 3, p. 161-180

“A minor, if protracted, chapter in the history of American Egyptology concerns aMormon scripture known as “The Book of Abraham,” which purports to be an authentic narrative history translated by Joseph Smith, Jr. from an Egyptian papyrus acquired by the Mormon prophet in 1835. 1  Now a canonical element of  The Pearl of Great Price,  Smith’s “translation”  had  been  published  in serialized  excerpts during  1842,  well  before  Jean-François Champollion’s correct decipherment was generally known in America.”

“By 1861, T. Devéria had noted a series of anachronisms and absurdities in the supposed translation and woodcut vignettes, and in 1912 a solicitation for professional opinions on the matter drew uniformly derisive assessments from A. H. Sayce, W. M. F. Petrie, J. H.Breasted, A. C. Mace, J. Peters, S. A. B. Mercer, E. Meyer, and F. W. von Bissing. Apologetic response was muted, as the papyri no longer belonged to the church when it migrated west to Utah, and they were thought to have been lost, perhaps in the great Chicagofire of 1871. Aside from ad hominem  attacks on the Egyptologists themselves, the matter generated little further discussion. “Faced by a solid phalanx of PhD’s, the Mormons were properly overawed.”

“This state of affairs changed dramatically on 27 November 1967, when the MetropolitanMuseum of Art in New York made a gift to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Of eleven papyrus fragments that had passed from Smith’s mother to an employee’s family before acquisition by the museum. Comparison of the papyrus illustrations with the wood-cuts in the  Pearl of Great Price confirmed that these fragments were those once owned byJoseph Smith and employed as the basis for “The Book of Abraham.” In January and Feb-ruary of   the following  year, sepia  photographs  of  the fragments  were published  in  theMormon magazine  The Improvement Era,  and on the basis of these photographs, the journal  Dialogue commissioned translations and commentaries on the texts, now designated as“The Joseph Smith Papyri.” In the summer issue of  1968, Egyptologists John A. Wilsonand Richard A. Parker identified fragments within this collection as sections of a late mor-tuary text known as a “Book of Breathings,” copied for a Theban priest named Hor. The rediscovery of the primary documents that inspired, but in no way corroborate, a canon-ical book of Mormon theology has resulted in a thirty-five year, occasionally vituperative, confrontation between Egyptological scholars and Mormon traditionalists.”

“The true content of this papyrus concerns only the afterlife of the deceased Egyptian priest Hor. “Books of Breathings,” such as this Joseph Smith example, are late funerary compositions derived from the traditional “Book of the Dead.” Like the “Book of the Dead,” the sole purpose of the later texts is to ensure the blessed afterlife of the deceased individual, who is elevated to divine status by judgment at the court of Osiris and is thereby guaranteed powers of rejuvenation.”

“Here follows the transliteration and translation of Hor’s papyrus.”

“Osiris, the god’s father, prophet of Amon-Re, King of the Gods, prophet of Min who slaughters his enemies, prophet of Khonsu, the one who exercises authority in Thebes, Hor, the justified, son of the similarly titles overseer of secrets and purifier of the God, Osorwer, the justified, born by the housewife and sistrum-player of Amon-Re, Taikhibit, the justified! May your ba-spirit live among them, and may you be buried on the west of Thebes. O Anubis. May you give to him a good and splendid burial on the west of Thebes as on the mountains of Manu.”

Pearl of Great Price, A Facsimile from the Book of Abraham, No. 2

“Fig. 1. Kolob, signifying the first creation, nearest to the celestial, or the residence of God. First in government, the last pertaining to the measurement of time. The measurement according to celestial time, which celestial time signifies one day to a cubit. One day in Kolob is equal to a thousand years according to the measurement of this earth, which is called by the Egyptians Jah-oh-eh.

Fig. 2. Stands next to Kolob, called by the Egyptians Oliblish, which is the next grand governing creation near to the celestial or the place where God resides; holding the key of power also, pertaining to other planets; as revealed from God to Abraham, as he offered sacrifice upon an altar, which he had built unto the Lord.

Fig. 3. Is made to represent God, sitting upon his throne, clothed with power and authority; with a crown of eternal light upon his head; representing also the grand Key-words of the Holy Priesthood, as revealed to Adam in the Garden of Eden, as also to Seth, Noah, Melchizedek, Abraham, and all to whom the Priesthood was revealed.

Fig. 4. Answers to the Hebrew word Raukeeyang, signifying expanse, or the firmament of the heavens; also a numerical figure, in Egyptian signifying one thousand; answering to the measuring of the time of Oliblish, which is equal with Kolob in its revolution and in its measuring of time.

Fig. 5. Is called in Egyptian Enish-go-on-dosh; this is one of the governing planets also, and is said by the Egyptians to be the Sun, and to borrow its light from Kolob through the medium of Kae-e-vanrash, which is the grand Key, or, in other words, the governing power, which governs fifteen other fixed planets or stars, as also Floeese or the Moon, the Earth and the Sun in their annual revolutions. This planet receives its power through the medium of Kli-flos-is-es, or Hah-ko-kau-beam, the stars represented by numbers 22 and 23, receiving light from the revolutions of Kolob.

Fig. 6. Represents this earth in its four quarters.

Fig. 7. Represents God sitting upon his throne, revealing through the heavens the grand Key-words of the Priesthood; as, also, the sign of the Holy Ghost unto Abraham, in the form of a dove.

Fig. 8. Contains writings that cannot be revealed unto the world; but is to be had in the Holy Temple of God.

Fig. 9. Ought not to be revealed at the present time.

Fig. 10. Also.

Fig. 11. Also. If the world can find out these numbers, so let it be. Amen.

Figures 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, and 21 will be given in the own due time of the Lord.

The above translation is given as far as we have any right to give at the present time.”

Robert Ritner, “The Joseph Smith Egyptian Papyri, A Complete Edition: P. JS and the Hypocephalus of Sheshonq,” 2013, Signature Books

Fig. 1. The god Re-Atum.

Fig. 2. On these shoulders are jackal heads. In his left hand is the staff of Wepwawet.

Fig. 3. A solar barque carrying the seated falcon headed god Re, holding a was scepter. The solar disk is over Re’s head. A divine Eye of Horus is on both sides of Re and the solar barque. Also on the barque is an offering stand. Located in the missing section of the hypocephalus. Prior to printing, the section was filled in. The text on the rim surrounding the figure has been replaced by text from the unrelated Breathing Permit of Hôr. 

Fig. 4. A falcon, representing Sokar, sitting on a mummy case, with outstretched wings, sitting upon a papyrus boat. The Coffin Texts state: “He takes the ship of 1000 cubits from end to end and he salis it to the stairway of fire.”

Fig. 5. A cow, representing Hathor, the heavenly cow. Behind is a standing female figure with the Eye of Horus depicted on her head and holding out a water lily in her left hand.

Fig 6. Four standing figures, representing the four sons of Horus. They are the patron gods of the lungs, liver, stomach and intestines. 

Fig. 7. The seated figure has been identified with the fertility god Min depicted with an erect penis, who is holding a flail. To the left is a figure identified as the serpent god Nehebkau with a falcon head presenting the Eye of Ra.

Fig. 8. “O noble god from the beginning of time,”

Fig. 9. “Great god, lord of heaven, earth,”

Fig. 10. “Underworld, waters, and mountains,”

Fig. 11. “Cause the ba-spirit of the Osiris Sheshonq to live.”

Fig. 16. “Back, injury, back! There is none who attacks you.”

Fig. 17. “This ba-spirit and his lord will not be attacked in the underworld forever.”

Fig. 18. “I am the punisher in the Mansion of the Benben in Heliopolis, greatly exalted, greatly [effective], the copulating bull who has no equal, this great god in the Mansion of the Benben in Heliopolis, [... Come to the Osiris Sheshonq, the justified, son of...]. He is that great god in the House of the Noble.”

Fig. 19. “Behold, thou art ever,”

Fig. 20. “As this god of thine,”

Fig. 21. “In (of) Busiris,”

Fig. 22. Apes with lunar disks appearing above their heads.

Fig. 23. Apes with lunar disks appearing above their heads.

Pearl of Great Price, A Facsimile from the Book of Abraham, No. 3

“Fig. 1. Abraham sitting upon Pharaoh’s throne, by the politeness of the king, with a crown upon his head, representing the Priesthood, as emblematical of the grand Presidency in Heaven; with the scepter of justice and judgment in his hand.

Fig. 2. King Pharaoh, whose name is given in the characters above his head.

Fig. 3. Signifies Abraham in Egypt as given also in Figure 10 of Facsimile No. 1.

Fig. 4. Prince of Pharaoh, King of Egypt, as written above the hand.

Fig. 5. Shulem, one of the king’s principal waiters, as represented by the characters above his hand.

Fig. 6. Olimlah, a slave belonging to the prince.”

Michael D. Rhodes, “The Hor Book of Breathings: A Translation and Commentary,” Foundation for Ancient Research and Mormon Studies, Brigham Young University, 2002

“Fig. 1. Words spoken by Osiris, the Foremost of the Westerners: May you, Osiris Hor, abide at the side of the throne of his greatness.

Fig. 2. The great Isis, mother of the god.

Fig. 3. Offering table

Fig. 4. Maat, Lady of the West

Fig. 5. Osiris Hor, the justified forever.

Fig. 6. Words spoken by Anubis who makes protection Lord of heaven, Foremost of the Westerners”

The New York Times, “Museum Walls Proclaim Fraud of Mormon Prophet,” 29 December, 1912, p. 1

“Within three months the only one of these sacred writings in which the test of scholarship could be applied has been submitted to such a test and its authenticity has been destroyed completely. The walls of the Egyptian rooms of the Metropolitan Museum proclaim it to be a fraud. Dr. Albert M. Lythgoe, Curator of the Egyptian department, voices unequivocally the condemnatory evidence of the mute Egyptian drawings and hieroglyphics. Two eminent scholars in England, two scholars in Germany, and four of the most noted Egyptologists in this country join without a dissenting paragraph in the condemnation.

The sacred Mormon text was susceptible of accurate and complete analysis from the simple fact that it was taken from a genuine Egyptian original. The translation was a work of the Mormon prophet's curious imagination.”

“The ten rooms of the Egyptian collection yielded proof in such abundance that any layman, even in Egyptology, can take the drawings as published in the sacred Mormon record and reproduced on this page of THE TIMES, and find dozens of duplicates of certain figures in them on the walls of the Museum and in its cases of Egyptian objects.”

“A certain picture in the Mormon work representing Abraham "sitting on the throne of Pharaoh by the politeness of the King," really represents a scene depicted in the Museum's hieroglyphics a score or more of times. Father Abraham, therefore, must have been one of the best known Egyptian characters.”

“When the Mormon prophet published his translation and proclaimed it divine, there was no one to challenge him because there was no Egyptian scholarship amounting to anything at that time. The working out of the Egyptian alphabet was a matter of more recent accomplishment, and the scholarship that has grown up in its wake has not had an opportunity to overhaul and submerge the Mormon claim to the divine origin of its sacred work.”

“Come upstairs with me and I will show you several pictures that duplicate the figure that the Mormon prophet says is Abraham sitting on the throne of Pharaoh. It is merely Osiris, god of the underworld. And I will show you more duplicates of the figure the Mormons declare to be Pharaoh. It is Isis, wife of Osiris, who is always with him. And when it comes to the Mormon picture of 'God on His Throne, signifying the Grand Key-Words of the Holy Priesthood as revealed to Adam in the Garden of Eden,' why that is a sad joke.”

“The figure of "Abraham upon the altar" of the Mormon version, Dr. Lythgoe explained, was merely the usual scene of the mummy upon its bier. The idolatrous priest bending over him, to sacrifice him, according to the Mormon version, was, Dr. Lythgoe explained, merely the familiar figure of the god Anubis, "protector of mummies." Dr. Lythgoe pointed out the figure on a papyrus showing the progress of one Ani of the eighteenth dynasty toward final judgment by Osiris, god of the underworld. The picture of the god Anubis was shown in every picture where the mummy was shown and always he was leaning over it in a position as if to keep it from harm.

To make very clear just how great a hoax the Mormon prophet perpetrated upon his people, it was only necessary to gain a slight knowledge of the use the Egyptians made of their funeral papyri.”

“Bishop Spalding excuses the Mormons for never attempting to have the scholarship of their prophet tested before accepting his translation on the grounds that the Egyptian grammar of Champollion was not completed until 1841, and an adequate knowledge of Egyptian hieroglyphics was not achieved until years later than this.”

“Bishop Spalding hasn't much hope of reaching the ordinary variety of faithful Mormon who "sustains the authorities" in all things, including politics and tithing offering, with his little pamphlet of exposure. But he hopes that Mormons who have been trained in the universities and have some conception of the integrity of scholarship and the inscrutability of evidence, such as that presented in the Egyptian collection at the Metropolitan Museum, will have open hearts, and so will receive the plain truth presented to them. The breaking up of Mormonism through the desertion of the intelligent part of its membership is the future for the Prophet Smith's church which Bishop Spalding foresees. It is for that reason that he prefers to address the Mormons as his friends rather than to attack them.”

Richard Lyman Bushman, Joseph Smith: Rough Stone Rolling, Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group

“It seemed likely that the papyri had been an occasion for receiving a revelation rather than a word-for-word interpretation of the hieroglyphs as in ordinary translations.” Ch. 15

“Joseph may have heard apocryphal stories of Abraham, although the Book of Jasher was not published in English until 1829 and not in the United States until 1840. A Bible dictionary published by the American Sunday School Union summed up many of the apocryphal elements. Whether Joseph knew of alternate accounts of Abraham or not, he created an original narrative that echoed apocryphal stories without imitating them. Either by revelation, as his followers believed, or by some instinctive affinity for antiquity, Joseph made his own late—and unlikely—entry in the long tradition of extrabiblical narratives about the great patriarch.” Ch. 15

Gospel Topics Essays, “Translation and Historicity of the Book of Abraham,” Church History, Gospel Library, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints 

“The word translation typically assumes an expert knowledge of multiple languages. Joseph Smith claimed no expertise in any language.”

“In these inspired translations, Joseph Smith did not claim to know the ancient languages of the records he was translating.”

“The Lord did not require Joseph Smith to have knowledge of Egyptian. By the gift and power of God, Joseph received knowledge about the life and teachings of Abraham.”

“Of course, the fragments do not have to be as old as Abraham for the book of Abraham and its illustrations to be authentic. Ancient records are often transmitted as copies or as copies of copies. The record of Abraham could have been edited or redacted by later writers much as the Book of Mormon prophet-historians Mormon and Moroni revised the writings of earlier peoples.”

“Illustrations once connected with Abraham could have either drifted or been dislodged from their original context and reinterpreted hundreds of years later in terms of burial practices in a later period of Egyptian history. The opposite could also be true: illustrations with no clear connection to Abraham anciently could, by revelation, shed light on the life and teachings of this prophetic figure.”

“Since only fragments survive, it is likely that much of the papyri accessible to Joseph when he translated the book of Abraham is not among these fragments. The loss of a significant portion of the papyri means the relationship of the papyri to the published text cannot be settled conclusively by reference to the papyri.”

“Alternatively, Joseph’s study of the papyri may have led to a revelation about key events and teachings in the life of Abraham, much as he had earlier received a revelation about the life of Moses while studying the Bible. This view assumes a broader definition of the words translator and translation. According to this view, Joseph’s translation was not a literal rendering of the papyri as a conventional translation would be. Rather, the physical artifacts provided an occasion for meditation, reflection, and revelation. They catalyzed a process whereby God gave to Joseph Smith a revelation about the life of Abraham, even if that revelation did not directly correlate to the characters on the papyri.”

“The veracity and value of the book of Abraham cannot be settled by scholarly debate concerning the book’s translation and historicity. The book’s status as scripture lies in the eternal truths it teaches and the powerful spirit it conveys.”

“The truth of the book of Abraham is ultimately found through careful study of its teachings, sincere prayer, and the confirmation of the Spirit.”

Michael D. Rhodes, “I Have a Question: Why doesn’t the translation of the Egyptian papyri found in 1967 match the text of the Book of Abraham in the Pearl of Great Price?” Ensign, July 1988

“But if the text were on the same papyri, what is a text written by—or attributed to—Abraham doing with a bunch of pagan religious texts some two thousand years after his time? This is really not as unlikely as it may seem. The Egyptians had a mania for things of the past. It is not unreasonable to suppose that Abraham’s ancient record could have been copied many times through the generations and treasured for its antiquity centuries later. Perhaps it was just such a multigenerational copy that finally ended up with the mummies and documents that came into Michael Chandler’s possession, a text that we do not now have.”

“Instead of making a literal translation, as scholars would use the term, he used the Urim and Thummim as a means of receiving revelation. Even though a copy of Abraham’s record possibly passed through the hands of many scribes and had become editorially corrupted to the point where it may have had little resemblance to the original, the Prophet—with the Urim and Thummim, or simply through revelation—could have obtained the translation—or, as Joseph Smith used the word, he could have received the meaning, or subject-matter content of the original text, as he did in his translation of the Bible. This explanation would mean that Joseph Smith received the text of our present book of Abraham the same way he received the translation of the parchment of John the Revelator—he did not even need the actual text in front of him.

In reality, the actual method Joseph Smith used is far less important than the resulting book of scripture he produced.”

“In the final analysis, however, the proof of the truth of the book of Abraham does not come by human means. As with all aspects of the restored gospel, “by the power of the Holy Ghost [we] may know the truth of all things. In this article, I will pass on my own experience gained while teaching about the facsimiles and the Pearl of Great Price at Brigham Young University.”

Michael D. Rhodes, “Teaching the Book of Abraham Facsimiles,” 2003, Religious Educator, Volume 4, Number 2

“One of the most difficult aspects of teaching the book of Abraham is dealing with the three facsimiles found there. Critics of the Church have raised numerous questions about them and the associated papyri, and students often ask about these criticisms.”

“The statement in the introduction to the book of Abraham, that it was “written by his own hand upon papyrus,” does not necessarily mean that the papyrus Joseph Smith was translating was the original written by Abraham. The term “by the hand of” can simply mean that Abraham is the author of the book.”

“So while the papyri Joseph Smith had were written nearly two thousand years after Abraham, they nevertheless could have contained a copy of the book of Abraham, of which Abraham was the author.”

“What Joseph Smith did with the facsimiles is similar to what he did with the Joseph Smith Translation of the Bible—he gave the original meaning of the Abraham illustrations, correcting the distortions that had taken place over nearly two millennia.”

“It is especially important to recognize that knowledge of these Egyptian matters was unavailable even to the best scholars of Joseph Smith’s day. This only reaffirms what every honest person can learn in earnest prayer, that Joseph Smith was truly a prophet of God and that he received these things through revelation.”

Pearl of Great Price, Introduction

“Selections from the Book of Moses. An extract from the book of Genesis of Joseph Smith’s translation of the Bible, which he began in June 1830.”

Pearl of Great Price, Introduction

“Before long, the Lord had revealed to Joseph a vision first received by Moses, which was missing from the Old Testament. In the newly restored scripture, God showed Moses “worlds without number,” told him that God created everything spiritually before He created it naturally, and taught that the purpose of this glorious creation was to help men and women receive eternal life.” Ch. 10

“Most recently, the Lord had begun to reveal more of the history of the prophet Enoch, whose life and ministry received only a brief mention in Genesis. As Sidney recorded Joseph’s dictation, they learned that Enoch had been a prophet who gathered together an obedient and blessed people. Like the Nephites and Lamanites who created a righteous society after the Savior’s visit to the Americas, Enoch’s people learned to live peacefully with each other. “They were of one heart and one mind, and dwelt in righteousness,” the scripture recorded, “and there was no poor among them.” Under Enoch’s leadership, the people built a holy city called Zion, which God eventually received into His presence. There Enoch spoke with God as they looked down on the earth, and God wept over the wickedness and suffering of His children. The day would come, He told Enoch, when truth would be brought forth from the earth and His people would build another city of Zion for the righteous.” Ch. 10

Richard Lyman Bushman, Joseph Smith: Rough Stone Rolling, Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group

“The Book of Moses differed technically from Abraham and the Book of Mormon in not being based on purported ancient writings. The Book of Mormon came from gold plates and the Book of Abraham from Egyptian scrolls purchased from a dealer in 1835. For the Book of Moses and the inspired revision, Joseph worked from the King James Version of Genesis without promptings from another manuscript. But in the method of their creation, the three translations were alike. Joseph did not translate in the sense of learning the language and consulting dictionaries. He received the words by “revelation,” whether or not a text lay before him.” Ch. 6

“Much of the Book of Moses conformed to Genesis 1 through 5:25, describing the Creation, Adam and Eve, and the first generations after the Fall. But instead of beginning with the Creation, Joseph’s Book of Moses inserted a preceding chapter describing Moses’s call to write Genesis.” Ch. 6

“Did Moses’ vision give meaning to Joseph’s life as the Church got started? A prophecy in the Book of Mormon had linked a modern prophet named Joseph with Moses and Israel, making Moses a model for Joseph Smith.” Ch. 6

“After recording Moses’ vision in June, Joseph began work on the succeeding chapters of Genesis.” Ch. 6

“By the end of the year, Joseph had completed the first five chapters of Genesis, enlarging eight pages of the Bible into twenty-one of what became the Book of Moses. In redoing the early chapters of Genesis, the stories of Creation, of Adam and Eve, and the Fall were modified, but with less extensive interpolations than in the revelation to Moses. Joseph wove Christian doctrine into the text without altering the basic story.” Ch. 6

Pearl of Great Price, Articles of Faith 1:8

“We believe the Bible to be the word of God as far as it is translated correctly; we also believe the Book of Mormon to be the word of God.”

Bible Dictionary, “Joseph Smith Translation (JST)” Study Helps, Gospel Library, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints 

“A revision or translation of the King James Version of the Bible begun by the Prophet Joseph Smith in June 1830. He was divinely commissioned to make the translation and regarded it as “a branch of his calling” as a prophet. Although the major portion of the work was completed by July 1833, he continued to make modifications while preparing a manuscript for the press until his death in 1844, and it is possible that some additional modifications would have been made had he lived to publish the entire work. Some parts of the translation were published during his lifetime.”

Saints: The Story of the Church of Jesus Christ in the Latter Days, Volume 1, The Standard of Truth, 1815–1846, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Salt Lake City, Utah 

“Months earlier, Joseph and Oliver had begun an inspired translation of the Bible. From the Book of Mormon, they knew that precious truths had been corrupted through the ages and taken away from the Old and New Testaments. Using a Bible that Oliver purchased from Grandin’s bookstore, they had begun to study the book of Genesis, seeking inspiration about passages that seemed incomplete or unclear.” Ch. 10

Gospel Topics Essays, “Translation and Historicity of the Book of Abraham,” Church History, Gospel Library, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints 

“Joseph’s translations took a variety of forms. Some of his translations, like that of the Book of Mormon, utilized ancient documents in his possession. Other times, his translations were not based on any known physical records. Joseph’s translation of portions of the Bible, for example, included restoration of original text, harmonization of contradictions within the Bible itself, and inspired commentary.”

Michael D. Rhodes, “I Have a Question: Why doesn’t the translation of the Egyptian papyri found in 1967 match the text of the Book of Abraham in the Pearl of Great Price?” Ensign, July 1988

“His translation of the Bible, parts of which are in the book of Moses in the Pearl of Great Price, was also done without having the original text before him. Instead, while he was using the King James Version of the Bible, the correct meaning or content was revealed to him, including extensive revelations of both Enoch and Moses that are not found in the King James Version.”

Richard Lyman Bushman, Joseph Smith: Rough Stone Rolling, Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group

“Joseph received the first chapter of Moses in June 1830 as an independent revelation, but over the next six months, he came to conceive it as the beginning of a grand, new project: to revise the Bible. He would work his way through the text, straightening out contradictions, correcting errors, and adding lost portions. New translations of the Bible were common in these years, but Joseph’s revision was not based on a review of ancient sources. He sat with a large King James Version, marking passages and dictating changes to Sidney Rigdon and other scribes. Until 1833, his day-today activity was to work over the text, making changes large and small.” Ch. 6

“Revising the Bible was only a logical extension of translating the Book of Mormon. Both were expansions of the scriptures. Joseph’s role as revelator authorized him to add to the Bible and correct the translation where it had gone astray. He did not question the authenticity of the Bible as did the German scholars who were identifying signs of human authorship about this time. Rather than doubting the Bible’s inspiration, Joseph believed the original text had been marred in its descent through the ages and proposed to strengthen biblical authority by recovering the original.” Ch. 6

“Joseph’s revision was more like Thomas Jefferson’s treatment of the New Testament. Without referring to the ancient manuscripts, Jefferson altered the text to suit his own preferences, except that Jefferson pared back the text to the bare bones of Jesus’s moral teachings, while Joseph added long passages and rewrote sentences according to his inspiration. As a son of the Enlightenment, Jefferson cut out the mysterious doctrines; as a prophet and seer, Joseph expanded and elaborated them. Unlike the scholarly translators, he went back beyond the existing texts to the minds of the prophets, and through them to the mind of God. As he said later in life, “I believe the Bible, as it ought to be, as it came from the pen of the original writers.” Ch. 6

“After moving to Ohio, Joseph intermittently carried on translation of the Bible until 1833 when he declared the work finished, although the Church lacked the funds to publish the revision during his lifetime. For nearly three years, his everyday work, between dealing with crises and managing the Church, was this “New Translation.” In March 1831, instructed by a revelation, he switched from the Old Testament to the New. As he worked his way through the text, aided by Sidney Rigdon, his methods changed. After the Enoch revelations, he made no more heroic additions. Here and there the text was dramatically expanded, but mostly he appears to have been reading and rereading in search of flawed passages. The changes did not always come in a flash of insight or a burst of revelation. The manuscript shows signs of him searching his mind for the right words, as a regular translator might do.” Ch. 6

“These smaller revisions read more like improvements than fresh revelations. Unlike the many additional pages about Moses and Enoch, the later alterations added only a few verses at a time, clarifying meaning in small ways. Not working from an ancient text, Joseph still obviously relied on inspiration to make the changes, but he gave up the Urim and Thummim, as Orson Pratt later explained, because he had become acquainted with “the Spirit of Prophecy and Revelation” and no longer needed it. Later, he moved still closer to conventional translation. In 1835 the Church hired Joshua Seixas to teach Hebrew to the elders. Joseph joined the classes along with everyone else. The inspired translator of the Bible and Book of Mormon received instruction from a professor, as if he wanted to blend conventional learning with his own special gifts.” Ch. 6

Jared W. Ludlow, “The Joseph Smith Translation of the Bible: Ancient Material Restored or Inspired Commentary? Canonical or Optional? Finished or Unfinished?” 2021, BYU Studies Quarterly, Volume 60, Issue 3, Article 13

“While the result came to be known as the Joseph Smith Translation (JST), it was not a literal word-for-word translation of ancient biblical languages from a manuscript but more of an inspired revision or paraphrase based on the King James Version in English, carried out primarily between June 1830 and July 1833.”

“The JST differs from the King James Version in about 3,410 verses (one-third in the Old Testament and two-thirds in the New Testament). These differences include slight changes to a word, new phrases, deletions, textual rearrangements, and entirely new chapters. A basic tenet of Latter-day Saint faith, starting with Joseph Smith, is a qualified belief in the Bible as most clearly stated in the eighth article of faith: “We believe the Bible to be the word of God as far as it is translated correctly” (emphasis added). This statement shows both the importance of the Bible as containing the word of God but also a disclaimer that its transmission from source to reader needs to remain faithful to the original. Perhaps this principle—and Joseph Smith’s belief that during the ancient transmission process the original teachings of the Bible were corrupted and important truths lost—is the impetus behind Joseph Smith’s project and desire to present a version of the Bible that could be fully accepted as the word of God.”

“Furthermore, since the time of Joseph Smith ancient manuscripts have been discovered, such as the Dead Sea Scrolls, which show they are not that drastically different from later transmitted manuscripts that became the basis for the traditional received text (of course there is a significant chronological gap backward from the Dead Sea Scrolls to an autograph copy, so we do not what changes may have occurred then).”

“Rather than specifically restoring original text, many view the JST as an inspired commentary by Joseph Smith. This notion looks at examples where there could be explanations, clarifications, and theological discussion about biblical passages without resorting to the claim that these expansions were on original manuscripts.”

“A recent claim is somewhat related: that some of the JST may be an inspired commentary on a commentary. Thomas Wayment and Haley Wilson-Lemmon examined contemporary biblical commentaries of Joseph Smith’s day. They claim to have found two hundred to three hundred examples of borrowing from Adam Clarke’s Holy Bible, Containing the Old and New Testaments, a primary Methodist theological resource for two centuries. They see this as reflecting an “academic interest” by Joseph Smith to update the biblical text, using the “best books”10 available and relying on the commentary “for matters of history, textual questions, clarification of wording, and theological nuance. . . . Our preliminary impression is that Smith was especially inclined to follow Clarke’s commentary in instances where Clarke drew upon manuscript evidence or language expertise. . . . This new evidence effectively forces a reconsideration of Smith’s translation projects, particularly his Bible revision, and how he used a scholarly source while simultaneously melding his own prophetic inspiration into the resulting text.”

“But when we start to get to Matthew, it’s very clear that Adam Clarke has influenced the way he changes the Bible.”12 These findings can also affect the issue of JST’s canonical or nearly canonical status. “With some of the changes that Smith introduced into the text of the Bible resulting from academic sources, albeit modified and altered, the question arises as to whether the changes that arose via Clarke would have the same claim to canonicity that the longer revelatory insertions might have.”

Book of Mormon, 3 Nephi 12:20

“Therefore come unto me and be ye saved; for verily I say unto you, that except ye shall keep my commandments, which I have commanded you at this time, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven.”

Joseph Smith Translation, Matthew 5:21

“Whosoever, therefore, shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so to do, he shall in no wise be saved in the kingdom of heaven; but whosoever shall do and teach these commandments of the law until it be fulfilled, the same shall be called great, and shall be saved in the kingdom of heaven.”

Book of Mormon, 3 Nephi 13:12

“And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.”

Joseph Smith Translation, Matthew 6:14

“And suffer us not to be led into temptation, but deliver us from evil.”

Book of Mormon, 3 Nephi 13:22

“The light of the body is the eye; if, therefore, thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light.”

Joseph Smith Translation, Matthew 6:22

“The light of the body is the eye; if therefore thine eye be single to the glory of God, thy whole body shall be full of light.”

Book of Mormon, 3 Nephi 13:31-32

“Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?

For your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things.”

Joseph Smith Translation, Matthew 6:25-27

“And, again, I say unto you, Go ye into the world, and care not for the world; for the world will hate you, and will persecute you, and will turn you out of their synagogues.

Nevertheless, ye shall go forth from house to house, teaching the people; and I will go before you.

And your heavenly Father will provide for you, whatsoever things ye need for food, what ye shall eat; and for raiment, what ye shall wear or put on.”

Book of Mormon, 3 Nephi 13:33

“But seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you.”

Joseph Smith Translation, Matthew 6:38

“Wherefore, seek not the things of this world but seek ye first to build up the kingdom of God, and to establish his righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you.”

Book of Mormon, 3 Nephi 14:1

“Judge not, that ye be not judged.”

Joseph Smith Translation, Matthew 7:2

“Judge not unrighteously, that ye be not judged; but judge righteous judgment.”

Book of Mormon, 3 Nephi 14:6

“Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast ye your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn again and rend you.”

Joseph Smith Translation, Matthew 7:10-11

“And the mysteries of the kingdom ye shall keep within yourselves; for it is not meet to give that which is holy unto the dogs; neither cast ye your pearls unto swine, lest they trample them under their feet.

For the world cannot receive that which ye, yourselves, are not able to bear; wherefore ye shall not give your pearls unto them, lest they turn again and rend you.”

Adam-ondi-Ahman

Richard Lyman Bushman, Joseph Smith: Rough Stone Rolling, Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group

“Hiking through the timber along the river, they came to the place where Lyman Wight operated a ferry at the bottom of Tower Hill. Inspired by what he saw, Joseph invested the place with a history, partly from the Book of Mormon, partly from the Bible. He spotted “an old Nephitish Alter and Tower,” and then received a revelation that said Spring Hill was named by the Lord “Adam-ondi-Ahman,” because “it is the place where Adam shall come to visit his people, or the Ancient of days shall sit as spoken of by Daniel the Prophet.” The name of the site, Adam-ondi-Ahman, meant “the place where Adam dwelt,” presumably after his expulsion from the Garden. For two weeks, the party surveyed lands, intending to purchase everything between Adam-ondi-Ahman and Far West twenty-five miles to the south.” Ch. 19

Doctrine and Covenants 116:1

“Spring Hill is named by the Lord Adam-ondi-Ahman, because, said he, it is the place where Adam shall come to visit his people, or the Ancient of Days shall sit, as spoken of by Daniel the prophet.”

To the Point, “What is Adam-ondi-Ahman? What is its importance?” For the Strength of Youth, October 2021

“Joseph Smith learned about Adam-ondi-Ahman through revelation and inspiration. It’s the name of a place near where Adam, the first man, lived with his wife, Eve, for at least some time. This was sometime after they were cast out of the Garden of Eden. Three years before he died, Adam gathered all his righteous descendants there and blessed them.

In the last days, Adam, as a resurrected being, will come again to the place called Adam-ondi-Ahman, located in northern Missouri, USA. There he will again gather with others, including many other resurrected beings. Prophets who have held priesthood keys will deliver their keys up to Adam, who was the first to hold such keys and is the father of the human family on earth. He will then deliver the keys to Jesus Christ. This will be an important event to help prepare for the Second Coming of Jesus Christ to all the world.”

Zelph

Richard Lyman Bushman, Joseph Smith: Rough Stone Rolling, Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group

“In early June when several camp members stopped near the Illinois River to investigate a mound, they came across three piles of stones that looked like possible altars, with bones scattered on the ground nearby. Digging down about a foot, they found a skeleton with an arrow point stuck in its ribs. According to the account prepared under his direction, Joseph said: “The visions of the past being opend to my understanding by the Spirit of the Almighty. I discovered that the person whose Skeleton was before us was a white Lamanite, a large thick set man, and a man of God.” Named Zelph, the man fought for “the great prophet Onandagus, who was known from the hill Cumorah, or eastern sea, to the Rocky Mountains.” According to Joseph, Zelph had his hip broken by a rock flung from a sling during the last great battle between Lamanites and Nephites.” Ch. 12

Jeffrey Tucker and Ryan Combs, “Ask Us: Top Reference Questions about Book of Mormon Artifacts,” 23 September 2022, Church History, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

“Did the members of Zion’s Camp find the grave of a Book of Mormon-era warrior during their march through the American Midwest? Maybe.

During the Zion’s Camp march, the group stopped in Pike County, Illinois, on June 2 or 3, 1834. As they surveyed the area, some of the men noticed a tall earthen mound on the west side of the Illinois River and began digging into it. In his autobiography, Heber C. Kimball recorded what happened next:

“At about one foot deep we discovered the skeleton of a man, almost entire; and between two of his ribs we found an Indian arrow, which had evidently been the cause of his death. …

The same day, we pursued our journey. While on our way we felt anxious to know who the person was who had been killed by that arrow. It was made known to Joseph [Smith] that he had been an officer who fell in battle, in the last destruction among the Lamanites, and his name was Zelph. This caused us to rejoice much, to think that God was so mindful of us as to show these things to his servant. Brother Joseph had enquired of the Lord and it was made known in a vision.”

There are other accounts of the Zelph story written by members of Zion’s Camp, including Reuben McBride, Moses Martin, Wilford Woodruff, and Levi Hancock. Joseph also wrote a letter home in which he described “roving over the mounds” in the area and finding bones, though he does not mention Zelph by name.”

“In 1990, archaeologists from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and the Center for American Archaeology went to the Zelph mound. Their excavation of the site unearthed additional artifacts, such as bowls and axe heads, which were dated to between 100 AD and 500 AD.

Still, it is difficult to definitively say that Zelph was a warrior during the Nephite-Lamanite wars. If the records of the Zelph story are accurate, and if Joseph truly meant that Zelph was a participant in Book of Mormon events, and if Zelph was buried in the mound at the same time as the other items, then it is possible—but that’s a lot of ifs.”

The Kinderhook Plates

Richard Lyman Bushman, Joseph Smith: Rough Stone Rolling, Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group

“Not long after the Miller excitement, Joseph’s prophetic powers were put to the test. In April, a dozen men in Kinderhook, Pike County, Illinois, said they had dug twelve feet into a mound on the property of a local merchant, Robert Wiley, and found six small bell-shaped brass plates with undecipherable writing on them. Within a few weeks, the plates were in Joseph’s hands with a request for a translation.” Ch. 27

“They cast this lure before the Mormon prophet in hopes of catching him in a feigned translation. A letter was sent to the Times and Seasons explaining the find, and the plates were taken to Nauvoo. An editorial in the Quincy Whig, a paper hostile to the Mormons, baited the Prophet by saying that “some pretend to say that Smith, the Mormon leader, has the ability to read them.” In a classic temptation, the paper observed that if he could, “it would go to prove the authenticity of the Book of Mormon.” Ch. 27

“Richards said Joseph sent William Smith for a Hebrew Bible and lexicon, as if he was going to translate conventionally. Clayton, in a conflicting account, wrote that “Joseph has translated a portion and says they contain the history of the person with whom they were found and he was a descendant of Ham through the loins of Pharaoh king of Egypt, and that he received his kingdom from the ruler of heaven and earth.” Joseph seemed to be stepping into the trap.” Ch. 27

“Joseph may not have detected the fraud, but he did not swing into a full-fledged translation as he had with the Egyptian scrolls. The trap did not quite spring shut, which foiled the conspirators’ original plan. Instead of exposing the plot immediately, as they had probably intended to do, they said nothing until 1879, when one of them signed an affidavit describing the fabrication. Church historians continued to insist on the authenticity of the Kinderhook plates until 1980 when an examination conducted by the Chicago Historical Society, possessor of one plate, proved it was a nineteenth-century creation.” Ch. 27

Joseph Smith Papers, “Historical Introduction: Grammar and Alphabet of the Egyptian Language, circa July–circa November 1835,” The Joseph Smith Papers

“The following spring, six brass plates were dug out of an Indian burial mound near Kinderhook, Illinois, and brought to Nauvoo, Illinois, for JS to translate. One of the men who unearthed the plates had manufactured them and planted them in a mound to deceive local Mormons. According to one source, JS looked at the plates and then “compared them . . . with his Egyptian alphabet,” an apparent reference to the Grammar and Alphabet volume.”

Stanley B. Kimball, “Kinderhook Plates Brought to Joseph Smith Appear to Be a Nineteenth-Century Hoax,” Ensign, August 1981

“A recent electronic and chemical analysis of a metal plate (one of six original plates) brought in 1843 to the Prophet Joseph Smith in Nauvoo, Illinois, appears to solve a previously unanswered question in Church history, helping to further evidence that the plate is what its producers later said it was—a nineteenth-century attempt to lure Joseph Smith into making a translation of ancient-looking characters that had been etched into the plates.

Joseph Smith did not make the hoped-for translation.”

“Although this account appears to be the writing of Joseph Smith, it is actually an excerpt from a journal of William Clayton.”

“Where the ideas written by William Clayton originated is unknown.”

“In general, Latter-day Saint scholars and laymen have sought to confirm the story of the Kinderhook plates, feeling that such authentication would both defend the Prophet and make more plausible the account of the Book of Mormon having been taken from plates of gold.”

“In a letter dated April 8, 1878, Wilbur Fugate recalled: “We understood Jo Smith said [the plates] would make a book of 1200 pages but he would not agree to translate them until they were sent to the Antiquarian society at Philadelphia, France, and England.”

“Then on June 23, just one day before publication of the broadside that repeated the Saints’ hopeful expectation of an eventual translation, the Prophet was abducted by Missourians who tried to get him to Missouri for prosecution on charges of “treason.” He made it back to Nauvoo on June 30, but the habeas corpus proceedings took up more than two weeks of his time.”

“And this fact may well explain the characteristic that has made this hoax most interesting—that it was never carried to completion. That the Kinderhook plates were not authentic artifacts is no longer in doubt; but if the plates were faked, why wasn’t the hoax revealed right away?”

“And this brings us to the other side of the story, for those of us who believe that Joseph Smith was the Lord’s prophet: Isn’t it natural to expect that he would be guided to understand that these plates were not of value as far as his mission was concerned?”

Church History Topics, “Kinderhook Plates,” Gospel Library, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

“In 1843, a group of men unearthed six bell-shaped brass plates about three inches in height from an American Indian burial mound near Kinderhook, Illinois. The plates contained symbols resembling an ancient script, and one member of the group thought the artifacts appeared well suited for Joseph Smith to translate. Accounts suggest the discovery intrigued Joseph Smith and other Latter-day Saints in Illinois, but no translated text resulted from this short-lived excitement.”

“One of those present when the plates were unearthed later reported that he had learned the whole episode was a prank. Wilbur Fugate admitted that he, Robert Wiley, and a local blacksmith forged the plates and deposited them in the burial mound the night before the discovery. Chemical and metallurgical analysis of the one surviving plate confirms the artifact was not an ancient production.”

“Joseph apparently examined the plates and, according to his clerk William Clayton, remarked that they contained “the history of … a descendant of Ham through the loins of Pharaoh king of Egypt.”2 Joseph evidently did not attempt a revelatory translation as he had done with the Book of Mormon plates, but rather appears to have compared the symbols on the Kinderhook plates with other ancient artifacts in his possession. One symbol on the plates closely matches a glyph on the Egyptian papyri Joseph translated in Kirtland, Ohio. Joseph’s previous translation of this glyph mentions a descendant of Ham through the lineage of the pharaohs.”

Brian M. Hauglid, “Did Joseph Smith Translate the Kinderhook Plates?” 2011, in Robert L. Millet, No Weapon Shall Prosper, New Light on Sensitive Issues, Religious Studies Center, Brigham Young University

“This discovery was reported in the Quincy Whig and then reprinted in the Times and Seasons (May 1, 1843, 185–87). The plates, later known as the Kinderhook Plates, made their way to Nauvoo and were presented to Joseph Smith, who was reported to have said, according to the History of the Church, “I have translated a portion of them, and find they contain the history of the person with whom they were found. He was a descendant of Ham, through the loins of Pharaoh, king of Egypt, and that he received his kingdom from the Ruler of heaven and earth.”

“In later letters, two eyewitnesses to the event, W. P. Harris (1855) and Wilbur Fugate (1879), confessed that the whole thing was a hoax. With a group of other conspirators, they had manufactured the plates to give them the appearance of antiquity, buried them in a mound, and later pretended to excavate them, all for the purpose of trapping Joseph Smith into pretending to translate. However, it was not until 1980, when the only remaining plate was forensically examined, that the plates were conclusively determined to be, in fact, a nineteenth-century production.”

“Up to 1980 most Latter-day Saints rejected the confessions and believed the plates were authentic. Not only did skeptics accept the confessors’ statements, but some continue to this day to argue that Joseph Smith pretended to translate a portion of the faked plates, claiming that he could not have been a true prophet.”

“Joseph Smith likely had the plates for about five days between April 29 and May 3, 1843, [5] and again around June 24 of the same year. However, only three sources from that time period deal with the translation question to any degree. The first is the statement from History of the Church cited at the beginning of this essay. Second is a letter Parley P. Pratt wrote to John Van Cott. The third is a letter from Charlotte Haven.”

“William Clayton wrote the entry for History of the Church dated May 1, 1843. In my view, it is the strongest evidence for Joseph translating a portion of the plates.”

“In a letter dated May 7, 1843, to John Van Cott, Parley P. Pratt wrote:

I have no further news except that six plates having the appearance of Brass have lately been dug out of a mound by a gentleman in Pike Co. Illinois, they are small and filled with engravings in Egyptian language and contain the genealogy of one of the ancient Jaredites back to Ham the son of Noah his bones were found in the same vase (made of Cement) part of the bones had crumbled to dust & the other part were part preserved the bones were 15 ft. under ground. The gentlemen who found them were unconnected with this church but have brought them to Joseph Smith for examination & translation a large number of Citizens here have seen them and compared the characters with those on the Egyptian papyrus which is now in this city. I have no time for particulars but you will hear more soon on this subject.”

“Finally, Charlotte Haven, a non-Mormon who visited her Latter-day Saint sister in Nauvoo as a young girl, wrote in a letter that a Joshua Moore “brought with him half a dozen thin pieces of brass, apparently very old, in the form of a bell about five or six inches long. They had on them scratches that looked like writing, and strange figures like symbolic characters. They were recently found, he said, in a mound a few miles below Quincy. When he showed them to Joseph, the latter said that the figures or writing on them was similar to that in which the Book of Mormon was written, and if Mr. Moore could leave them, he thought that by the help of revelation he would be able to translate them.”

Joseph Smith, “History of the Church,” May 1843, Volume 5, p. 327

“Comment of the Prophet on the Kinderhook Plates: “I insert fac-similes of the six brass plates found near Kinderhook, in Pike county, Illinois, on April 23, by Mr. Robert Wiley and others, while excavating a large mound. They found a skeleton about six feet from the surface of the earth, which must have stood nine feet high. The plates were found on the breast of the skeleton and were covered on both sides with ancient characters. I have translated a portion of them, and find they contain the history of the person with whom they were found. He was a descendant of Ham, through the loins of Pharaoh, king of Egypt, and that he received his kingdom from the Ruler of heaven and earth.”

The Improvement Era, “Questions and Answers: The Kinderhook Plates,” March 1904, Church History Catalog, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

“Certain bell-shaped plates are said to have been discovered in a mound, in the vicinity of Kinderhook, Pike county, Illinois, by Robert Wiley, in 1843, and taken to Joseph Smith.”

“The event would go very far towards confirming the idea that in very ancient times, there was intercourse between the eastern and western hemispheres; and the statement of the prophet would mean that the remains were Egyptian. The fair implication, also, from the prophet’s words is that this descendant of the Pharaohs possessed a kingdom in the new world; and this circumstance may account for the evidence of a dash of Egyptian civilization in our American antiquities.”

The Greek Psalter

Joseph Smith Papers, “Historical Introduction: Grammar and Alphabet of the Egyptian Language, circa July–circa November 1835,” The Joseph Smith Papers

“One source claims that JS misidentified a Greek psalter as a dictionary of Egyptian hieroglyphs in 1842. In spring 1842, a minister named Henry Caswall arrived in Nauvoo, Illinois, incognito, “in order to test the scholarship of the prophet.” Caswall, who published an account in a popular anti-Mormon pamphlet that year, wrote that he brought a Greek psalter from roughly the thirteenth century to JS and pretended ignorance of its content and age. According to Caswall, JS called it “a dictionary of Egyptian Hieroglyphics.” The Latter-day Saints published a rebuttal to Caswall’s pamphlet, stating that JS had not examined the psalter and observing that Caswall’s words and actions did not become his position as a minister.”

Joseph Smith Papers, “Historical Introduction: Letter from Reuben Hedlock, 16–17 October 1843,” The Joseph Smith Papers

“According to his account, Caswall showed JS an ancient Greek psalter and asked him to explain the text inscribed on it. Caswall later claimed that JS told him the book was a “dictionary of Egyptian Hieroglyphics . . . like the letters that was engraved on the golden plates.” Caswall apparently denounced JS as a fraud in front of a group of church members and later publicized his account of their conversation in The City of the Mormons; or, Three Days at Nauvoo, in 1842, an exposé published in London in 1842. Sometime before April 1843, he published another critical depiction of the Latter-day Saints in the book The Prophet of the Nineteenth Century. In October 1843, the Times and Seasons published an account refuting Caswall’s characterization of the 1842 encounter, insisting that JS “declined having any thing to do with it” after a nervous Caswall asked for a translation of the psalter. The writings of Caswall and other individuals hostile to the church in Great Britain remained a source of consternation to missionaries and church leaders in fall 1843.”

Henry Caswall, “The City of the Mormons, or Three Days at Nauvoo in 1842,” 1843, London

“In order to test the scholarship of the prophet, I had further provided myself with an ancient Greek manuscript of the Psalter written upon parchment, and probably about six hundred years old.”

“On the following morning (Monday, April 18th), I took my venerable Greek manuscript of the Psalter, and proceeded to the ferry to obtain a passage.”

“Perceiving a respectable-looking store (or shop), I entered it, and began to converse with the storekeeper. I mentioned that I had been informed that Mr. Smith possessed some remarkable Egyptian curiosities, which I wished to see. I added that, if Mr. Smith could be induced to show me his treasures, I would show him in return a very wonderful book which had lately come into my possession. The storekeeper informed me that Mr. Smith was absent, having gone to Carthage that morning; but that he would return about nine o'clock in the evening. He promised to obtain for me admission to the curiosities, and begged to be permitted to see the wonderful book. I accordingly unfolded it from the many wrappers in which I had enveloped it, and, in the presence of the storekeeper and many astonished spectators, whom the rumour of the arrival of a strange book had collected, I produced to view its covers of worm-eaten oak, its discoloured parchments, and its mysterious characters. Surprise was depicted on the countenances of all present, and, after a long silence, one person wiser than his fellows, declared that he knew it to be a revelation from the Lord, and that probably it was one of the lost books of the Bible providentially recovered. Looking at me with a patronizing air, he assured me that I had brought it to the right place to get it interpreted, for that none on earth but the Lord's Prophet could explain it, or unfold its real antiquity and value. "Oh," I replied, "I am going to England next week, and doubtless I shall find some learned man in one of the universities who can expound it." To this he answered with a sneer, that the Lord had chosen the weak things of the world to confound the mighty; that he had made foolish the wisdom of this world; and that I ought to thank Providence for having brought me to Nauvoo, where the hidden things of darkness could be revealed by divine power.”

“On landing at Nauvoo, I walked with the Doctor along the street which I mentioned before as bordering on the strand. As I advanced with my book in my hand, numerous Mormons came forth from their dwellings, begging to be allowed to see its mysterious pages; and by the time I arrived at the prophet's house, they amounted almost to a crowd. I met Joseph Smith at a short distance from his dwelling, and was regularly introduced to him by the storekeeper. I had the honour of an interview with him who is a Prophet, a Seer, a Merchant, a "Revelator," a President, an Elder, an Editor, and the Lieutenant-General of the "Nauvoo Legion."

“He led the way to his house, accompanied by many elders, preachers, and other Mormon dignitaries. On entering the house, chairs were provided for the prophet and myself, while the curious and gaping spectators remained standing. I handed the book to the prophet, and begged him to explain its contents. He asked me if I had any idea of its meaning. I replied, that I believed it to be a Greek Psalter; but that I should like to hear his opinion. "No he said; "it ain't Greek at all, except, perhaps, a few words. What ain't Greek, is Egyptian; and what ain't Egyptian, is Greek. This book is very valuable. It is a dictionary of Egyptian Hieroglyphics." Pointing to the capital letters at the commencement of each verse, he said: Them figures is Egyptian hieroglyphics; and them which follows, is the interpretation of the hieroglyphics, written in the reformed Egyptian. Them characters is like the letters that was engraved on the golden plates." Upon this, the Mormons around began to congratulate me on the information I was receiving. "There," they said; "we told you so -- we told you that our prophet would give you satisfaction. None but our prophet can explain these mysteries." The prophet now turned to me, and said, "This book ain't of no use to you, you don't understand it."

“I pointed to a particular hieroglyphic, and requested him to expound its meaning. No answer being returned, I looked up, and behold! the prophet had disappeared. The Mormons told me that he had just stepped out, and would probably soon return. I waited some time, but in vain: and at length descended to the street in front of the store. Here I heard the noise of wheels, and presently I saw the prophet in a light waggon, flourishing his whip and driving away as fast as two fine horses could draw him. As he disappeared from view, enveloped in a cloud of dust, I felt that I had turned over another page in the great book of human nature.”

“Your prophet himself has proved to me that he is not inspired, and I will make the fact known to the world. Would you believe a man calling himself a prophet, who should say that black is white?" "No," they replied "Would you believe him if he should say that English is French?" "Certainly not." "But you heard your prophet declare, that this book of mine is a dictionary of Egyptian hieroglyphics, and, farther, that it is written in characters like those of the original Book of Mormon. I know it most positively to be the Psalms of David, written in ancient Greek. Now what shall I think of your prophet? They appeared confounded for a while; but at length the Mormon doctor said, "Sometimes Mr. Smith speaks as a prophet, and sometimes as a mere man. If he gave a wrong opinion respecting the book, he spoke as a mere man." I said, "Whether he spoke as a prophet or as a mere man he has committed himself; for he has said what is not true. If he spoke as a prophet, therefore, he is a false prophet. If he spoke as a mere man, he cannot be trusted, for he spoke positively and like an oracle respecting that of which he knew nothing. You have spoken severely; without regard to my feelings, respecting the Church to which I belong, but I hardly like to tell you all that I think respecting your prophet and yourselves." "Speak out," said some. "Go on," said others. "We are above prejudice," said the old man. "If Smith be not a true prophet," I proceeded, "you must admit that he is a gross impostor."

Warsaw Message, “The Mormon Prophet and the Greek Psalter,” November 15, 1843, Volume 1, Number 45, Warsaw Illinois

“Some time since, Professor Caswell, late of Kemper College, near St. Louis, an Episcopal Clergyman of reputation, being about to leave this country for England, paid a visit to Smith and the Saints, in order that he might be better able to represent the imposture to the British people. It so happened that the Professor had in his possession a Greek Psalter, of great age -- one that had been in the family for several hundred years. This book, as a relic of antiquity, was a curiosity to any one -- but to some of the Saints, who happened to see it, it was a marvel and wonder. Supposing its origin to have been as ancient, at least, as the Prophet's Egyptian Mummy, and not knowing but the Professor had dug it from the bowels of the same sacred hill in Western New York whence sprung the holy Book of Mormon, they importuned him to allow 'brother Joseph' an opportunity of translating it!

The Professor reluctantly assented to the proposal; and accompanied by a number of the anxious brethren, repaired to the residence of the Prophet. The remarkable book was handed him. Joe took it -- examined its old and worn leaves -- and turned over its musty pages. Expectation was now upon tip-toe. The brethren looked at one another -- at the book -- then at the Prophet. It was a most interesting scene!

Presently the spirit of prophecy began to arise within him; and he opened his mouth and spoke. That wonderful power, which enables him to see as far through a mill-stone as could Moses or Elijah of old, had already in the twinkling of an eye, made those rough and uncouth characters as plain to him as the nose on the face of the Professor. 'This Book,' said he, 'I pronounce to be a Dictionary of Ancient Egyptian Hieroglyphics!'

The brethren present were greatly astonished at this exhibition of their Prophet's power of revealing hidden things. After their exaltation had somewhat subsided, the Professor coolly told them that their Prophet was a base impostor! -- and that the book before them was but a plain Greek Psalter! -- Joe 'stepped out.'”

Times and Seasons, “Reward of Merit,” 15 October 1843

“It will be recollected by some, that a Mr. Caswell, professing to be an Episcopal minister, came to this city some twelve or eighteen months ago. He had with him an old manuscript, professing to be ignorant of its contents, and came to Joseph Smith, as he said, for the purpose of having it translated. Mr. Smith had a little conversation with him, and treated him with civility, but as the gentleman seemed very much afraid of his document, he declined having any thing to do with it.”

Topics and Questions, “Joseph Smith,” Gospel Library, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

“For a testimony of the restored gospel to be complete, it must include a testimony of Joseph Smith’s divine mission. The truthfulness of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints rests on the truthfulness of the First Vision and the other revelations the Lord gave to the Prophet Joseph. In the Doctrine and Covenants we learn that “Joseph Smith, the Prophet and Seer of the Lord, has done more, save Jesus only, for the salvation of men in this world, than any other man that ever lived in it.”

Knowing the truth of Joseph Smith’s testimony requires each earnest seeker of truth to study the Book of Mormon and then exercise sufficient faith in Christ to ask God in sincere, humble prayer whether the record is true. If the seeker asks with the real intent to act upon the answer revealed by the Holy Ghost, the truthfulness of Joseph Smith’s vision will be manifest. In this way, every person can know that Joseph Smith spoke honestly when he declared, “I had seen a vision; I knew it, and I knew that God knew it, and I could not deny it.”

Topics and Questions, “Testimony,” Gospel Library, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

“Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints have the sacred opportunity and responsibility to obtain their own testimonies. Having obtained a testimony, each member has a duty to nurture it throughout life.”

Dieter F. Uchtdorf, “Come, Join with Us,” General Conference, October 2013

“I suppose the Church would be perfect only if it were run by perfect beings. God is perfect, and His doctrine is pure. But He works through us—His imperfect children—and imperfect people make mistakes.”

“It is unfortunate that some have stumbled because of mistakes made by men.”

Joseph Smith, History of the Church, 6:366; from a discourse given by Joseph Smith on May 12, 1844, in Nauvoo, Illinois; reported by Thomas Bullock.

“When did I ever teach anything wrong from this stand? When was I ever confounded? I want to triumph in Israel before I depart hence and am no more seen. I never told you I was perfect; but there is no error in the revelations which I have taught. Must I, then, be thrown away as a thing of naught?”